The present disclosure relates, in general, to emergency event detectors, alarms and signaling devices, such as smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, etc.
Emergency event alarms, such as smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, heat alarms, etc., are typically mounted in various rooms of a home, such as bedrooms, hallways and at one or both ends of stairs to provide an early indication of the presence of heat or smoke generated during the initial stages of a fire, for example, or carbon monoxide from a faulty furnace, to enable the occupants to safely escape from the home.
It is also known to construct smoke alarm warning systems which include a light source to provide emergency illumination. Such devices are typically employed in hallways and similar exit areas of a building and come into play when the main power supply of the building fails during a fire. The high intensity flashing strobe light is capable of being seen despite intense smoke which may fill a hallway or room. Nevertheless, such smoke detector/light warning systems do provide an indication of an exit to enable an occupant to escape from a burning building or home.
It is also known to provide a smoke alarm/warning light system which includes a standard smoke alarm mountable in a normal location on the ceiling of a room and a remote, separate light indicator unit which includes a light and a microphone for receiving the audible alarm signals generated by the smoke alarm sound generator. The flashing light housing is designed to be mounted on a window for visibility exteriorly of the building to identify the room where smoke has been detected so that rescuers will know where to go to put out the fire and/or rescue occupants of a burning building or home. This device utilizes a radio frequency transmitter in the smoke alarm and a receiver in the light housing. The radio frequency signals can activate light devices which may be remote from the smoke alarm and not positioned to detect the audible sounds generated by the smoke alarm.
The present Applicant previously devised a smoke detector apparatus with emergency escape indicator as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,839. This apparatus included a temperature sensor which sensed ambient temperature adjacent to the remote alarm device mounted adjacent a building exit, such as a door, opening, window, etc., and generated a visible and/or audible alarm to lead people to the exit despite the presence of smoke, noxious fumes, etc.
Despite the advantages provided by Applicant's prior apparatus, it is believed that further improvements can be made to provide an easy-to-use, easily visible device which can act as a supplementary emergency event indicator to assist in directing individuals within a smoke or noxious fume-filled room to a safely usable exit.